Information management apparatus, information processing apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable medium

ABSTRACT

An information management apparatus includes a processor configured to associate components including questions and answers to the questions using parent-child relationships and control a display of the components as a tree structure, receive a selection of a subset of components in the tree structure according to a user operation and also connect the selected subset of components to the tree structure, and change the parent-child relationships of the components according to the connection of the components.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2019-203056 filed Nov. 8, 2019.

BACKGROUND (i) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information management apparatus,an information processing apparatus, and a non-transitory computerreadable medium.

(ii) Related Art

In the related art, attempts have been made to increase thesearchability of data by using a model that expresses the structure ofrelation between components expressing the information. Examples includetopic maps, semantic networks, and concept maps.

As one example of utilizing a topic map (a data model defined by ISO13250) as a technology for achieving multifactorial data classification,Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-215753discloses a search apparatus provided with an index generation unit thatgenerates an index used to search a data group from a topic mapincluding an information network, a search query input unit that inputsa search condition and issues a search instruction, a search unit thatsearches for data conforming to the search condition according to thesearch instruction, and a display unit that displays indexed data of thedata returned by the search unit as a search result.

SUMMARY

However, creating such a map may require specialized knowledge, andwithout such specialized knowledge, creating the map may be difficult insome cases. On the other hand, a map may be treated as a tree structureproduced from parent-child relationships existing between components.

Aspects of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure relate toeasily creating parent-child relationships between components comparedto the case of not editing the parent-child relationships betweencomponents in a tree structure.

Aspects of certain non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosureaddress the above advantages and/or other advantages not describedabove. However, aspects of the non-limiting embodiments are not requiredto address the advantages described above, and aspects of thenon-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure may not addressadvantages described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation management apparatus including a processor configured toassociate components including questions and answers to the questionsusing parent-child relationships and control a display of the componentsas a tree structure, receive a selection of a subset of components inthe tree structure according to a user operation and also connect theselected subset of components to the tree structure, and change theparent-child relationships of the components according to the connectionof the components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of aninformation processing system according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams explaining a map according to the exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram explaining an exemplary functionalconfiguration of a map creation apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining operations by the map creationapparatus;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a case in which a useractually performs the operations of step 101 and step 102 in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating one example of tables;

FIG. 7 illustrates a case of connecting a selected component as aparent;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating changes in a table when the operationillustrated in FIG. 7 is performed;

FIG. 9 illustrates a case of changing a component in one of two treestructures;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating changes in a table when the operationillustrated in FIG. 9 is performed;

FIG. 11 illustrates a case of changing a parent-child relationship ofcomponents in the same tree structure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating changes in a table when the operationillustrated in FIG. 11 is performed;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram explaining an exemplary functionalconfiguration of an information processing apparatus;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart explaining operations by the informationprocessing apparatus;

FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of creating anindex, and FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating a method of searching anindex;

FIG. 16A is a diagram illustrating a greeting initially output by a chatbot when a user accesses the chat bot in step 201 of FIG. 14, and FIG.16B is a diagram illustrating a screen outputting an answer to aquestion in a case where there is one question selected by the searchengine for which the degree of association exceeds a threshold X;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a table provided with anidentification assistance column;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagrams illustrating other application examplesof a map;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams illustrating two maps having a treestructure;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a table for creating the treestructures illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are diagrams illustrating a case of dividing the tableillustrated in FIG. 20 into two tables;

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams illustrating a case of connectingcomponents in one map in FIGS. 21A and 21B to the tree structure ofanother map;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a table after parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation described in FIGS. 22A and22B;

FIGS. 24A and 24B are diagrams illustrating a table after parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation described in FIGS. 22A and22B;

FIGS. 25A and 25B are diagrams illustrating a case of connectingcomponents in one map in FIGS. 22A and 22B to the tree structure ofanother map;

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a table after parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation described in FIGS. 25A and22B; and

FIGS. 27A and 27B are diagrams illustrating a table after parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation described in FIGS. 25A and25B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail and with reference to the attached drawings.

<Description of Overall Information Processing System>

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of aninformation processing system 1 according to the exemplary embodiment.In the information processing system 1 illustrated in the diagram, a mapcreation apparatus 10 that creates a map in which components arearranged in a tree structure, an information processing apparatus 20that processes information by using the created map, and a managementserver 30 that manages the map are connected through a network 40. Notethat although FIG. 1 illustrates only one each of the map creationapparatus 10 and the information processing apparatus 20, multipleapparatuses may also be connected to the network 40.

The map creation apparatus 10 is one example of an informationmanagement apparatus, and creates the map described later. Also, theinformation processing apparatus 20 process predetermined informationprocessing using the map created by the map creation apparatus 10. Themap creation apparatus 10 and the information processing apparatus 20are computer apparatuses such as general-purpose personal computers(PCs), mobile computers, mobile phones, smartphones, or tablets, forexample. The map creation apparatus 10 creates the map by causingapplication software to run under management by an operating system(OS). The information processing apparatus 20 also performs theinformation processing using the map by causing application software torun under management by the OS. Although described in detail later, theinformation processing apparatus 20 is for example a chat bot thatoutputs an answer when a user inputs an inquiry. Additionally, in theexemplary embodiment, the map created by the map creation apparatus 10is used when producing an answer. Specific examples of applicationconceivably include a frequency asked questions list (FAQ) usedinternally by a corporation, a FAQ for customers, communication tools,educational equipment, portraits, and application software developmentsupport.

The management server 30 is a server computer that manages theinformation processing system 1 as a whole. For example, the managementserver 30 authenticates a user who operates the map creation apparatus10, and receives an upload of a created map. The management server 30also authenticates a user who operates the information processingapparatus 20, and receives a download of the map.

Each of the map creation apparatus 10, the information processingapparatus 20, and the management server 30 is provided with a centralprocessing unit (CPU) that acts as a computing unit, main memory thatacts as a memory unit, and storage such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or asolid-state drive (SSD). Here, the CPU is one example of a processor,and executes various software such as an OS (basic software) andapplication software. Also, the main memory is a storage area thatstores information such as various software and data used to execute thesoftware, while the storage is a storage area that stores informationsuch as input data that is input into various software and output datathat is output from various software.

Furthermore, each of the map creation apparatus 10, the informationprocessing apparatus 20, and the management server 30 is provided with acommunication interface (hereinafter designated “communication I/F”) forcommunicating externally, a display unit including video memory, adisplay, and the like, and input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse,and a touch panel.

As described above, the network 40 is a communication unit thatinterconnects multiple map creation apparatuses 10 and the managementserver 30 to each other, and is used for information communicationbetween each of the map creation apparatuses 10 and the managementserver 30. The network 40 is a local area network (LAN) or the Internet,for example. In the case where the network 40 is the Internet, themanagement server 30 may also be considered to be a cloud server thatmanages and provides the map.

<Description of Functional Configuration of Map Creation Apparatus 10>

Next, the map creation apparatus 10 will be described in further detail.The map creation apparatus 10 according to the exemplary embodiment isan apparatus that creates a map in which components, including questionsand answers, are connected in a tree structure. Here, a “map” means adiagram associating components with each other. In the exemplaryembodiment, a tree structure is adopted as the method of association.Consequently, the map according to the exemplary embodiment may beexpressed as a diagram that connects components to each other to form atree structure.

The “tree structure” is a structure in which components are arranged ina hierarchy, with multiple components positioned in a lower levelbranching off from a single component belonging to a higher level.

In the tree structure, the levels exist in a parent-child relationshipwith each other, and a parent component may have multiple childcomponents. Also, a child component itself may act as a parent componenthaving multiple child components.

In the exemplary embodiment, “components” include questions and answersto questions. Questions and answers are typically expressed throughtext, but are not limited to text, and may also be information such asimages, sounds, and computer language, for example. Also, an image maybe a still image or a moving image. Furthermore, the components may alsobe a combination of the above. That is, in the case where a question isan image, the question may be representational information. Also, theanswer to the above question may be text information expressing what theimage means, for example. Specifically, in the case where an image of aphotograph of a cat is set as the question, text information stating,“This is a photograph of a cat.” is set as the answer, for example.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams explaining a map according to the exemplaryembodiment. Of these, FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of amap. A map Mp1 illustrated in the diagram is displayed on a display, forexample. The map Mp1 contains three components Ct1 to Ct3. Additionally,the components Ct1 to Ct3 are interconnected to create a tree structureTree1. Parent-child relationships exist among the components Ct1 to Ct3,such that the component Ct1 is the parent while the components Ct2 andCt3 are children. Note that in the following, the components may besimply referred to as the “component(s) Ct” when each component is notbeing distinguished individually. Also, multiple maps may be simplyreferred to as the “map(s) Mp” when each map is not being distinguishedindividually. Furthermore, multiple tree structures may be simplyreferred to as the “tree structure(s) Tree” when each tree structure isnot being distinguished individually.

Each map is assigned a unique ID to enable multiple maps to bedistinguished from each other. Also, when a map is edited as describedlater, the map before the edit and the map after the edit may also beassigned different IDs. In this case, map version control may beachieved through the use of IDs. Furthermore, by treating categories andclasses as components Ct, classification according to category and classmay also be achieved.

Also, FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating one example of a question and ananswer to the question included in the components Ct. Here, the questionof the component Ct1 and an answer to the question are illustrated. Asillustrated by the diagram, “Migration from existing contract” is set asthe question, and “aaaa” is set as the answer. Note that “aaaa” isactually a long string of text, but is illustrated as “aaaa” here as asimplified concept. In this case, the question and the answer are bothexpressed as text. Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the map Mp1includes questions in a tree structure. In other words, by associatingquestions with each other, the components Ct1 to Ct3 are connected, andthe map Mp1 is created.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram explaining an exemplary functionalconfiguration of the map creation apparatus 10. Note that the diagramillustrates a selection of units related to the exemplary embodimentfrom among a variety of functions included in the map creation apparatus10.

The map creation apparatus 10 is provided with a reception unit 11 thatreceives a user instruction, a connection unit 12 that connectscomponents to each other, a changing unit 13 that changes parent-childrelationships between components according to new connectionrelationships, a saving unit 14 that saves a map Mp, and a displaycontrol unit 15 that creates display information for displaying a treestructure.

The reception unit 11 receives a selection of a subset of components Ctin a map Mp according to a user operation. Although described in detaillater, the reception unit 11 receives an instruction to select a subsetof a tree structure as the user instruction. The reception unit 11 alsoreceives an instruction to connect the selected subset of the treestructure to another component Ct as the user instruction. The receptionunit 11 corresponds to a CPU and an input device, for example.

Although described in detail later, the connection unit 12 connects theselected subset of components in the map Mp according to the userinstruction received by the reception unit 11. In this case, theconnection unit 12 connects multiple components Ct having a parent-childrelationship to another component Ct, and changes the map Mp. Theconnection unit 12 corresponds to a CPU, for example.

The changing unit 13 changes the parent-child relationship of thecomponents Ct according to the connections between the components Ct setby the connection unit 12. In other words, because new parent-childrelationships are produced in accordance with the connections betweenthe components Ct set by the connection unit 12, the changing unit 13changes the parent-child relationships accordingly. In actuality, thechanging unit 13 changes a table describing the parent-childrelationships. The changing unit 13 corresponds to a CPU, for example.

The saving unit 14 saves the content of components and parent-childrelationships used to create the map Mp. In actuality, the saving unit14 saves a table describing the content of components and parent-childrelationships. The saving unit 14 corresponds to storage, for example.

The display control unit 15 associates the components Ct usingparent-child relationships and controls the display of the map Mparranged as a tree structure. In other words, the display control unit15 creates display data for displaying the map Mp of the components Ctin a tree structure on a display, and sends the created display data tothe display.

<Descriptions of Operations by Map Creation Apparatus 10>

Next, operations by the map creation apparatus 10 will be described.FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining operations by the map creationapparatus 10. First, the reception unit 11 receives a selection of asubset of components Ct in the map Mp from the user (step 101). Next,the connection unit 12 connects the selected subset of components Ct inthe map Mp according to the user instruction (step 102).

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a case in which a useractually performs the operations of step 101 and step 102 in FIG. 4. Ofthese, FIG. 5A illustrates tree structures Tree1 and Tree2 before theoperations of step 101 and step 102 are performed. Also, FIG. 5Billustrates the state of the tree structures Tree1 and Tree2 after theoperations of step 101 and step 102 are performed. Here, the two treestructures Tree1 and Tree2 are illustrated as tree structures includedin the map Mp1. The tree structure Tree1 illustrated in FIG. 5A issimilar to the tree structure Tree1 illustrated in FIG. 2A, and includescomponents Ct1 to Ct3 forming the tree structure. On the other hand, thetree structure Tree2 illustrated in FIG. 5A includes components Ct4 toCt7 forming the tree structure.

Here, a case of connecting the components Ct5 to Ct7 in the treestructure Tree2 to the tree structure Tree1 and changing from the statein FIG. 5A to the state in FIG. 5B is illustrated. At this time, theuser selects the components Ct5 to Ct7 from the tree structure Tree2, asillustrated in FIG. 5A. This corresponds to the operation in step 101above. Herein, the selected part of the tree structure Tree2 isindicated by the dashed-line rectangle. Additionally, as illustrated inFIG. 5B, the selected components Ct5 to Ct7 are connected as children ofthe component Ct2 in the tree structure Tree1. Herein, the connectedpart is indicated by the dashed-line rectangle. With this arrangement,the tree structure Tree1 illustrated in FIG. 5A is updated to the treestructure Tree1 illustrated in FIG. 5B. This corresponds to theoperation in step 102 above. Note that, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, thecomponents Ct5 to Ct7 in the tree structure Tree2 remain unchanged. Inother words, the components Ct5 to Ct7 are not moved from the treestructure Tree2 to the tree structure Tree1, but rather copied andpasted so to speak. Note that only the components of the connectionsource (copy and paste source) as assumed to be editable.

In steps 101 to 102, a process of receiving the selection of thecomponents Ct5 to Ct7 as a subset of the tree structure Tree1 from amongthe two tree structures Tree1 and Tree2 and also connecting the selectedsubset of components Ct5 to Ct7 to the other tree structure Tree2 isperformed. The user is able to edit the tree structure Tree1 byperforming a drag and drop operation with a mouse or the like forexample while looking at the tree structures Tree1 and Tree2 displayedon a display. The image is created by the display control unit 15. Notethat although an operation on the two tree structures Tree1 and Tree2 isillustrated herein, the configuration is not limited thereto, and it isalso possible to display three or more tree structures Tree and performsimilar operations. In other words, multiple tree structures Tree may bedisplayed and edited by selecting and connecting components Ct in eachof the tree structures Tree.

Returning to FIG. 4, the changing unit 13 changes the parent-childrelationship of the components Ct (step 103). Furthermore, the savingunit 14 saves a table corresponding to the changed parent-childrelationship (step 104).

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating one example of tables. Ofthese, FIG. 6A illustrates a table Ta before the parent-childrelationship is changed in step 103. Also, FIG. 6B illustrates a tableTb after the parent-child relationship is changed in step 103. Thetables Ta and Tb illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B contain records for therespective columns “No.”, “Question”, “Answer”, “Parent”, and “Child”.Of these, “No.” is an ID assigned to each component Ct. Also, thequestions and answers described earlier are stated in the “Question” and“Answer” columns. Additionally, the parent-child relationships describedearlier are stated specifically in the “Parent” and “Child” columns.Here, a parent-child relationship is specified by “No.”. For example,the case where “Parent” is “1” means that the component Ct in thenext-higher layer of the tree structure Tree is the No. 1 component Ct1.As another example, the case where “Child” is “2, 3” means that thecomponents Ct in the next-lower layer of the tree structure Tree are theNo. 2 and No. 3 components Ct2 and Ct3. Note that the “null” case meansthat no parent or no child exists. For example, because the No. 1component Ct is positioned in the highest layer of the tree structureTree, no parent component exists, and therefore the “Parent” column is“null”.

As described in FIGS. 5A and 5B, in steps 101 to 102, a process ofconnecting the components Ct5 to Ct7 in the tree structure Tree2 aschildren of the component Ct2 in the tree structure Tree1 is performed.A comparison between FIGS. 6A and 6B demonstrates that first, the“Child” column of the No. 2 component Ct2 is changed from “null” to “5,6, 7”. In other words, this means that before the change, no childcomponents Ct existed for the component Ct2, but after the change, theNo. 5 to No. 7 components Ct5 to Ct7 are connected as children.Similarly, the “Parent” column of the No. 5 to No. 7 components Ct5 toCt7 is changed from “4” to “4, 2”. In other words, this means thatbefore the change, only the No. 4 component Ct4 was the parent componentCt of the components Ct5 to Ct7, but after the change, the No. 2component Ct2 is additionally connected as a parent. In this case, thechanging of the parent-child relationship is a process of adding thecomponents Ct5 to Ct7 as children of the parent component Ct2.

Such tables Ta and Tb are created to create the tree structures Tree ofthe components Ct1 to Ct7. In other words, the tree structures Tree maybe constructed and displayed by referencing the content of the “Parent”and “Child” columns that express parent-child relationships with respectto the component indicated in the “No.” column. Also, in the exemplaryembodiment, a single table is sufficient to express multiple treestructures Tree, without preparing a separate table for each of themultiple tree structures Tree. In other words, even if the treestructures Tree are different, if the components Ct are shared incommon, multiple tree structures Tree may be summarized in a singletable. Consequently, it may also be said that the table according to theexemplary embodiment contains records including questions, answers tothe questions, and information prescribing parent-child relationshipsfor creating the tree structure Tree1 and the tree structure Tree2 inwhich the components Ct including the questions and answers are arrangedin a tree structure, and also has a feature whereby records that includethe same components are stored in the same table.

Furthermore, it may also be said that the data structure adopted by thetable according to the exemplary embodiment is used with respect to atable for creating the map Mp in which the components Ct includingquestions and answers to the questions are arranged in a tree structure,the table containing records including the questions, the answers, andinformation prescribing parent-child relationships between thecomponents, and also has a feature whereby records that include the samecomponents are stored in the same table.

Note that in the above describes a case where the tree structure Tree1and the tree structure Tree2 are displayed on a display, and the userlooking at the display performs operations on the components Ct, butinstead of displaying only the tree structure Tree1 and the treestructure Tree2, the tables Ta and Tb described in FIGS. 6A and 6B mayalso be displayed as well. In other words, the display control unit 15controls the display of the tables Ta and Tb together with the treestructure Tree1 and the tree structure Tree2. With this arrangement, theuser is able to understand how the tables are changed before and afterthe change of the map Mp1. Also, the table to be displayed may be asingle table, and the table may be changed in real time in accordancewith changes to the tree structures Tree1 and Tree2. In this case, whencomponents Ct are connected, the display control unit 15 controls thechange together with the display of the table according to the change.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the connection unit 12 selects components Ct in thetree structure Tree2 different from the tree structure Tree1, andconnects the selected components Ct as children in the other treestructure Tree1, but the configuration is not limited thereto.Hereinafter, another example different from the above example will bedescribed.

FIG. 7 illustrates a case of connecting a selected component Ct as aparent. This case illustrates an example in which components Ct8 to Ct10indicated by the dashed-line rectangle are newly created and connectedto the tree structure Tree1 of FIG. 5B. Among the components Ct8 toCt10, the components Ct9 and Ct10 are connected as children to theparent component Ct8. Additionally, the example herein illustrates acase of connecting the component Ct8 as the parent of the component Ct1.Additionally, as a result, the component Ct8 becomes the highest layer,and the components Ct1, Ct9 and Ct10 are positioned in the next layer.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating changes in a table when the operationillustrated in FIG. 7 is performed. The table before the parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation illustrated in FIG. 7 is thetable Tb of FIG. 6B. Also, the table after the parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation illustrated in FIG. 7 is atable Tc of FIG. 8. Compared to the table Tb, records for the componentsCt8 to C10 indicated by No. 8 to No. 10 have been added to the table Tc.Furthermore, the “Parent” column of the No. 1 component Ct1 is changedfrom “null” to “8”.

FIG. 9 illustrates a case of changing a component Ct in one of two treestructures Tree. As illustrated in the diagram, this case illustrates anexample in which the tree structure Tree1 with the components Ct8 toCt10 connected in FIG. 7 and the tree structure Tree2 in FIGS. 5A and 5Bare displayed, and the component Ct7 is connected as a child of thecomponent Ct5 in the tree structure Tree2. In this case, when there is achange in a parent-child relationship between components forming one ofthe tree structures Tree1 and Tree2, the connection unit 12 causes asimilar change to be reflected in the other tree structure Tree. Herein,the tree structure Tree2 is changed, and a similar change is alsoapplied to the tree structure Tree1. In other words, the component Ct7is connected as a child of the component Ct5 in the tree structureTree1. The components Ct5 to Ct7 in the tree structure Tree1 are aconnection of components existing in the tree structure Tree2, and bycausing a change in the tree structure Tree2 to also be reflected in thetree structure Tree1, the editing burden on the user is reduced.Furthermore, when there is a change in the question and the answer tothe question in a component Ct forming one of the tree structures Tree1and Tree2, a similar change may also be reflected in the component Ctforming the other tree structure Tree. In other words, it may also besaid that when there is a change in the question and the answer to thequestion in a component Ct forming one of a first tree structure Treeand a second tree structure Tree, a similar change is also reflected inthe component Ct forming the other tree structure Tree.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating changes in a table when the operationillustrated in FIG. 9 is performed. The table before the parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation illustrated in FIG. 9 is thetable Tc of FIG. 8. Also, the table after the parent-child relationshipsare changed by the operation illustrated in FIG. 9 is a table Td of FIG.10. Compared to the table Tc, in the table Td, the “Child” column of thecomponent Ct5 indicated by No. 5 is changed from “null” to “7”. Also,the “Parent” column of the component Ct7 indicated by No. 7 is changedfrom “4, 2” to “4, 2, 5”. With this single change, the change in theparent-child relationships is reflected in both the tree structure Tree1and the tree structure Tree2.

FIG. 11 illustrates a case of disconnecting the component Ct7 from theparent component Ct4 in the tree structure Tree2, and connecting thecomponent Ct7 as a child of the component Ct5.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating changes in a table when the operationillustrated in FIG. 11 is performed. The table before the parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation illustrated in FIG. 11 is thetable Ta of FIG. 6A. Also, the table after the parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation illustrated in FIG. 11 is atable Te of FIG. 12. Compared to the table Ta, in the table Te, the“Child” column of the component Ct4 indicated by No. 4 is changed from“5, 6, 7” to “5, 6”. Also, the “Parent” column of the component Ct7indicated by No. 7 is changed from “4” to “5”. Also, the “Child” columnof the component Ct5 indicated by No. 5 is changed from “null” to “7”.

According to the map creation apparatus 10 described in detail above, amap creation tool with a high degree of freedom may be provided.Additionally, parent-child relationships between components Ct may becreated easily, making it easier to organize and systematize thecomponents. Furthermore, structuring the data of the components is easy,and a database may be constructed by creating the map Mp. Also, becausethe database is constructed through the creation of the map Mp,differences in perception between the creator of the map Mp and thearchitect of the database, inconsistencies, and rework suppression donot occur. Furthermore, it is possible to organize and systematizecomponents intuitively and dynamically. In addition, multiple treestructures Tree may be stored in the same table. Also, althoughdescribed in detail later, multiple maps Mp may also be stored in thesame table. In this case, maps Mp suited to different scenarios andapplications may be constructed and managed in the same table.

<Description of Information Processing Apparatus 20>

Next, the information processing apparatus 20 that performs informationprocessing using the above map will be described. As described earlier,the information processing apparatus 20 according to the exemplaryembodiment is a chat bot, for example. In other words, when a usersubmits an inquiry, the information processing apparatus 20 outputs ananswer to the inquiry.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram explaining an exemplary functionalconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 20. Note that thediagram illustrates a selection of units related to the exemplaryembodiment from among a variety of functions included in the informationprocessing apparatus 20.

The information processing apparatus 20 is provided with a receptionunit 21 that receives an inquiry from a user, a selection unit 22 thatselects a question corresponding to the inquiry from the map Mp, astorage unit 23 that stores the map Mp, and an output unit 24 thatoutputs an answer to the selected question.

The reception unit 21 receives an inquiry input by the user. Thereception unit 21 corresponds to a CPU and an input device, for example.Consequently, the inquiry may be input by using an input device such asa keyboard, for example. A question may also be input using speech. Inthe case of inputting an inquiry using speech, a microphone is used asthe input device, for example.

The selection unit 22 selects a question conforming to the inquiry bythe user from the map Mp. A specific method by which the selection unit22 selects a question conforming to an inquiry will be described later.The selection unit 22 corresponds to a CPU, for example.

The storage unit 23 stores the map Mp created by the map creationapparatus 10 described above. In the information processing apparatus20, the map Mp stored in the management server 30 is downloaded inadvance and stored in the storage unit 23. At this time, the managementserver 30 may also prepare multiple maps Mp, and the informationprocessing apparatus 20 may select and download a map Mp conforming tothe use by the user from among the multiple maps Mp. The storage unit 23corresponds to storage, for example.

The output unit 24 outputs an answer to the question selected by theselection unit 22. The output unit 24 references the map Mp stored inthe storage unit 23 to output an answer to the selected question. Theoutput unit 24 corresponds to a display, for example. Consequently, theanswer is displayed as text or an image on a device such as a displayprovided in the information processing apparatus 20. The answer may alsobe output using speech. In the case of outputting the answer usingspeech, a speaker is used, for example.

<Description of Operations by Information Processing Apparatus 20>

Next, operations by the information processing apparatus 20 will bedescribed. FIG. 14 is a flowchart explaining operations by theinformation processing apparatus 20. Although details will be describedlater, first, the output unit 24 outputs a greeting (step 201). Next,the reception unit 21 receives an inquiry from the user (step 202).

Here, the method by which the selection unit 22 selects a questionconforming to the inquiry will be described in detail. The selectionunit 22 creates an index in advance on the basis of questions in the mapMp. Additionally, the selection unit 22 selects a question on the basisof a degree of association between the index created from the questionsin the map Mp and the inquiry from the user.

FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of creatingthe index. Here, the questions in the map Mp are treated as a datasource, and the data of the data source is imported into an indexer. Inthe indexer, text included in the data source is processed using ananalyzer and organized into a format of words to register in the index.The analyzer formats the data to register in the index by dividingcharacter strings included in the data source into units of words,normalizing variations in characters, and the like. The words processedby the analyzer are generally referred to as tokens. In other words, thequestions are converted into tokens by the analyzer. Thereafter, thetokens are uploaded in a predetermined data structure and saved as astructure called the “index”.

Additionally, a user inquiry is similarly converted into a token, whichis used as the basis for searching the index and selecting a question.FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating a method of searching the index.First, a user inquiry is organized into a query format called a searchquery, and is processed by a query parser. The query parser passes asearch keyword extracted from the query to the analyzer to convert thesearch keyword into a token, converts the token into an internal queryformat called a query tree, and passes the query tree to a searchengine. The search engine uses the query tree to search the index forquestions. The search engine performs a ranking process that reordersquestions retrieved by the search in order of the degree of association.The ranked questions are treated as selected questions.

Returning to FIG. 14, the selection unit 22 sets two thresholds X and Ywith respect to the degree of association (step 203). The thresholds Xand Y are set such that X>Y. A degree of association having a largervalue means a higher correlation. The threshold X refers to a numericalvalue of a degree of association between the content of the user inquiryand the question of a component that is considered high enough to outputthe answer without waiting for a selection by the user. Meanwhile, thethreshold Y refers to a numerical value of a degree of associationbetween the content of the user inquiry and the question of a componentthat is considered low enough to exclude from outputting the answerwithout waiting for a selection by the user. Thereafter, the selectionunit 22 determines the number of questions whose degree of associationexceeds the threshold Y (step 204). As a result, in the case where thereis one question whose degree of association exceeding the threshold Y,and the degree of association exceeds the threshold X (“One” in step204, “Exceeds” in step 205), the output unit 24 outputs the answer tothe question (step 208). On the other hand, in the case where there isone question exceeding the threshold Y, but the degree of associationdoes not exceed the threshold X (“One” in step 204, “Does not exceed” instep 205), the question is output as a candidate (choice) (step 206).Also, in the case where multiple questions exceed the threshold Y(“Multiple” in step 204), the output unit 24 outputs the multiplequestions as candidates to the user (step 206). Note that an upper limiton the number of questions to output may also be imposed. In this case,the questions having a higher degree of association are prioritized foroutput. Furthermore, the user is made to select a question, and theselected question is received (step 207). Note that when outputting oneor more questions, the degree of association may also be output at thesame time. In addition, questions exceeding the threshold X may becolor-coded or the like to emphasize the difference from questions whosedegree of association is lower than the threshold X but higher than thethreshold Y. In this case, the user is able to intuitively recognizequestions having a high degree of association. Thereafter, the answer tothe question selected by the user is output (step 208).

FIG. 16A is a diagram illustrating a greeting initially output by thechat bot when the user accesses the chat bot in step 201 of FIGS. 14. Q1to Q3 illustrate cases of assisting the user with input bypre-presenting information such as components including questionscommonly asked in inquiries, for example.

FIG. 16B is a diagram illustrating a screen that output an answer to aquestion in the case where the selection unit 22 determines that thereis one question whose degree of association exceeds the threshold Y andthe degree of association exceeds the threshold X (the case of “One” instep 204 and “Exceeds” in step 205 of FIG. 14). This case illustrates anexample in which the user makes an inquiry P1 asking “What is priorapproval?”, and there is one question whose degree of associationexceeds the threshold Y and exceeds the threshold X (the case of “One”in step 204 and “Exceeds” in step 205 of FIG. 14). Specifically, “Whatis prior approval?” is output as the one question Q4. Subsequently, theoutput unit 24 outputs an answer A4 to the question.

Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, an answer to the selectedquestion is output, while in addition, questions existing in aparent-child relationship with the question are also output. In thiscase, the two questions “Glossary” and “Inherit existing customertenants into service” are displayed as questions Q5 of the parentcomponent Ct. Also, “What is a tenant?” is displayed as a question Q6 ofthe child component Ct. In this way, by additionally presentingcomponents Ct in a parent-child relationship, the nearby organizationrelated to the output question and the organization of the whole may bepresented together to the user. With this arrangement, the user is ableto additionally select questions that better conform to the user's owninquiry, and convenience is improved.

Returning to FIG. 14, in the case where there is no question whosedegree of association exceeds the threshold Y (“None” in step 204), acorresponding question is determined to be unavailable, and apredetermined answer is output (step 209). The answer is an answer for acomponent Ct of the inquiry window, for example.

Also, when the answer to the question is output in step 208, the user isalso able to further select one of the questions Q5 of the parentcomponent Ct or the question Q6 of the child component Ct as illustratedin FIG. 16B. In this case, the process in steps 207 and 208 areperformed, and the answer to the question further selected by the useris output. Additionally, when the answer to the question is output instep 208, a new inquiry may also be received. In this case, the flowreturns to step 202.

<Exemplary Modifications>

(Identification Assistance Column)

A configuration is also possible in which the table is further providedwith an identification assistance column used when identifying aquestion, the selection unit 22 identifies a question on the basis ofthe degree of association between an index created from theidentification assistance column and the inquiry, and the output unit 24outputs an answer to the question. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating atable Tf provided with the identification assistance column. Compared tothe table Ta of FIG. 6A, for example, items in an identificationassistance column K are added to the table Tf illustrated in FIG. 17.The “identification assistance column” is a column stating contentbetter suited to selecting when selecting a question with respect to auser inquiry. Additionally, by using an index created on the basis ofthe identification assistance column, the accuracy of selecting aquestion with respect to a user inquiry is improved. In addition, theidentification assistance column may also be left blank. In this case,the question of the component Ct is not considered for selection.Therefore, by leaving the identification assistance column blank, it ispossible to handle questions that are undesirable as output. Note thatany number of identification assistance columns may be provided.

(Answer Types)

As a general rule, answers may be stated freely in any way. However,answers may also be classified into types, and the answers may be statedaccording to the type. A “type” refers to a predetermined format forstating an answer in the table. Additionally, predetermined formats forstating answers may be prepared as types, causing answers to be statedin accordance with the formats. With this arrangement, convenience isimproved when stating answers. Also, the answer formats may be madeconsistent to avoid making the user feel a sense of unnaturalness.

(Application Examples of Map Mp)

The example described above illustrates a case of applying the map Mp toa chat bot as the information processing apparatus 20, but theconfiguration is not limited thereto. FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagramsillustrating other application examples of the map Mp. Of these, FIG.18A illustrates a case of applying the map Mp when creating a website.The website includes pages such as “Wiki”, “FAQ”, “Aggregator site”, and“Content delivery site”. Additionally, a map Mp is created for each ofthese pages to construct the configuration of the pages. It is alsopossible to utilize a map Mp for each page as content in which thecomponents Ct of each page are organized into a tree structure.

Also, FIG. 18B illustrates a case of applying the map Mp when managingapplications that run on a system. The system includes applications fororganizing, systematizing, and deploying thoughts and ideas, such as“Technology transfer”, “Learning support”, “AI behavior design”, and“SNS”. Additionally, respective maps Mp are created to manage operationsby each of the applications. Note that it is also possible to utilize amap Mp for each application as content in which the components of eachapplication are organized into a tree structure Tree. In addition, pagesand applications created by using these maps Mp may also be said to becapable of utilizing each other. As described earlier, these multiplemaps Mp may be managed in the same table.

In cases like FIGS. 18A and 18B, a map Mp is created for everyapplication, for example. The map Mp herein may also be referred to asan “application range map”. In other words, multiple application rangemaps are prepared and managed for each application.

Additionally, in this case, it is also possible to receive a selectionof a subset of components Ct in the tree structure Tree of a first mapMp, and connect the selected subset of components Ct to the treestructure Tree of a second map Mp, as described in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Itmay also be said that it is possible to designate a range for eachapplication applying the created tree structures Tree and components Ct.Additionally, it may also be said that a selection of a subset ofcomponents Ct in a tree structure Tree of a first application range mapamong multiple application range maps is received, and the selectedsubset of components Ct is connected to a tree structure Tree in asecond application range map.

Additionally, as described in FIG. 9, when there is a change in aparent-child relationship between components forming one of twostructures Tree, a similar change is reflected in the other treestructure Tree, for example. It may also be said that when there is achange in a parent-child relationship between components forming a treestructure Tree among a tree structure Tree in a first application rangemap and a tree structure Tree in a second application range map, achange of only the parent-child relationship between the componentsconnected between the application range maps is reflected in the treestructure Tree in the second application range map.

Also, like the case described in FIG. 9, it may also be said that whenthere is a change in the question and the answer to the question in acomponent forming one of a tree structure Tree in a first applicationrange map and a tree structure Tree in a second application range map, asimilar change is also reflected in the component Ct forming the othertree structure Tree.

(Other Method of Creating Table)

The example described above describes a case in which multiple treestructures Tree are managed in a single table, but multiple maps Mpincluding multiple tree structures Tree may also be managed in a singletable. FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams illustrating a map Mp1 includingtree structures Tree11 and Tree12, and a map Mp2 including treestructures Tree21 to Tree23. In other words, the case herein illustratesan example of multiple maps Mp including multiple tree structures Tree.Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 19A, the tree structure Tree11 ofthe map Mp1 contains components Ct1 to Ct3 and Ct5 to Ct10, while thetree structure Tree12 contains components Ct4 to Ct7. On the other hand,as illustrated in FIG. 19B, the tree structure Tree21 of the map Mp2contains components Ct11, Ct13 to Ct18, and Ct23. Furthermore, the treestructure Tree22 contains a component Ct12, and the tree structureTree23 contains components Ct19 to Ct22.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a table Tg for creating the treestructures illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B. Compared to the tablesdescribed above, the two columns “Map No.” and “Map Name” are added tothe table Tg. Of these, “Map No.” is an ID assigned to each map Mp.Also, “Map Name” is a name assigned to each map Mp. Additionally, MapNo. may be used to identify which map Mp a component Ct belongs to, andthe table Tb may be managed on the basis of the map Mp1 and the map Mp2.

FIGS. 21A and 21B are diagrams illustrating a case of dividing the tableTg into a table Th for creating the tree structures Tree11 and Tree12included in the map Mp1 and a table Ti for creating the tree structuresTree21 to Tree23 included in the map Mp2. In other words, in the presentembodiment, the information for creating the tree structures Tree11 andTree12 belonging to the map Mp1 and the tree structures Tree21 to Tree23belonging to the map Mp2 may be managed in the single table Tg asillustrated in FIG. 20 or in the two tables Th and Ti as illustrated inFIGS. 21A and 21B.

Also, FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams illustrating a case of connectingthe components Ct5 and Ct6 in the map Mp1 of FIG. 21A to the treestructure Tree21 of the map Mp2 in FIG. 21B. In other words, a case isillustrated in which, from the state illustrated in FIGS. 21A and 21B,the components Ct5 and Ct6 in the tree structure Tree11 or the treestructure Tree12 are selected and connected as children of the componentCt17 in the tree structure Tree21. In this case, like the case describedin FIG. 5B, the components Ct5 and Ct6 remain unchanged in the treestructure Tree11 or the tree structure Tree12. In other words, thecomponents Ct5 and Ct6 are not moved from the tree structure Tree11 orthe tree structure Tree12 to the tree structure Tree21, but rathercopied and pasted so to speak.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a table Tj after parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation described in FIGS. 22A and22B. In this case, the table Tg in FIG. 20 is changed to the table Tj inFIG. 23. A comparison of the table Tg and the table Tj demonstrates thatfirst, the “Child” column of the No. 17 component Ct17 is changed from“null” to “5, 6”. In other words, this means that before the change, nochild components Ct existed for the component Ct17, but after thechange, the No. 5 and No. 6 components Ct5 and Ct6 are connected aschildren. Similarly, the “Parent” column of the No. 5 and No. 6components Ct5 and Ct6 is changed from “4, 2” to “4, 2, 17”. In otherwords, this means that before the change, only the No. 4 and No. 2components Ct4 and Ct2 were the parent components Ct of the componentsCt5 and Ct6, but after the change, the No. 17 component Ct17 isadditionally connected as a parent. Also, the “Map No.” column of No. 5and No. 6 is changed from “1” to “1, 2”. In other words, this means thatbefore the change, the components Ct5 and Ct6 were used only in the mapMp1, but after the change, the components Ct5 and Ct6 are used in boththe map Mp1 and the map Mp2.

FIGS. 24A and 24B are diagrams illustrating a table Tk and a table Tlafter parent-child relationships are changed by the operation describedin FIGS. 22A and 22B. In this case, the table Th and the table Ti inFIGS. 21A and 21B are changed to the table Tk and the table Tl in FIGS.24A and 24B. A comparison of the tables Th and Ti to the tables Tk andTl demonstrates that changes similar to those described in FIG. 23 aremade. Also, No. 5 and No. 6 records are added to the table Tl. In otherwords, No. 5 and No. 6 are used in both the map Mp1 and the map Mp2, andtherefore are entered into both the table Th and the table Ti.

Furthermore, FIGS. 25A and 25B are diagrams illustrating a case ofconnecting the components Ct5 to Ct7 in the map Mp1 of FIG. 22A to thetree structure Tree21 of the map Mp2 of FIG. 22B. In other words, a caseis illustrated in which, from the state illustrated in FIGS. 21A and21B, the components Ct5 to Ct7 in the tree structure Tree11 or the treestructure Tree12 are selected and connected as children of the componentCt17 in the tree structure Tree21. Note that in this case, the componentCt7 is included twice. In this case, like the case described in FIG. 5B,the components Ct5 to Ct7 remain unchanged in the tree structure Tree11or the tree structure Tree12.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a table Tm after parent-childrelationships are changed by the operation described in FIGS. 25A and25B. In this case, the table Tg in FIG. 20 is changed to the table Tm inFIG. 26. A comparison of the table Tg and the table Tm demonstrates thatfirst, the “Child” column of the No. 17 component Ct17 is changed from“null” to “5, 6, 7”. In other words, this means that before the change,no child components Ct existed for the component Ct17, but after thechange, the No. 5 to No. 7 components Ct5 to Ct7 are connected aschildren. Similarly, the “Parent” column of the No. 5 to No. 7components Ct5 to Ct7 is changed from “4, 2” to “4, 2, 17”. In otherwords, this means that before the change, only the No. 4 and No. 2components Ct4 and Ct2 were the parent components Ct of the componentsCt5 to Ct7, but after the change, the No. 17 component Ct17 isadditionally connected as a parent. Also, the “Map No.” column of No. 5to No. 7 is changed from “1” to “1, 2”. In other words, this means thatbefore the change, the components Ct5 to Ct7 were used only in the mapMp1, but after the change, the components Ct5 to Ct7 are used in boththe map Mp1 and the map Mp2.

FIGS. 27A and 27B are diagrams illustrating a table Tn and a table Toafter parent-child relationships are changed by the operation describedin FIGS. 25A and 25B. In this case, the table Th and the table Ti inFIGS. 21A and 21B are changed to the table Tn and the table To in FIGS.27A and 27B. Like the case described in FIG. 26, a comparison of thetables Th and Ti to the tables Tn and To demonstrates that the “Child”column of the No. 17 component Ct17 is changed from “null” to “5, 6, 7”.On the other hand, the “Parent” column of the No. 5 to No. 7 componentsCt5 to Ct7 is not changed from “4, 2”. In other words, it is notnecessary to change the table Tn for creating the map Mp1. However,because the components Ct5 to Ct7 are used in the map Mp2, the “Map No.”column of No. 5 to No. 7 is changed from “1” to “1, 2”. Also, No. 5 toNo. 7 records are added to the table To. Additionally, herein, the“Parent” column of No. 5 to No. 7 is “17”, indicating that the parent ofthe components Ct5 to Ct7 is the component Ct17.

<Description of Program>

Herein, the processes performed by the map creation apparatus 10 and theinformation processing apparatus 20 according to the exemplaryembodiment described above may be prepared as a program such assoftware, for example. Furthermore, the processes are achieved throughthe cooperation of software and hardware resources.

Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, a program that executes theprocesses performed the map creation apparatus 10 may also be consideredto be a program that causes a computer to achieve a display controlfunction that associates components including questions and answers tothe questions using parent-child relationships to control the display ofthe components as a tree structure, a connecting function that receivesa selection of a subset of components in the tree structure according toa user operation and also connects the selected subset of components tothe tree structure, and a changing function that changes theparent-child relationships of the components according to theconnection.

Furthermore, the program that executes the processes performed by theinformation processing apparatus 20 may also be considered to be aprogram that causes a computer to achieve a reception function thatreceives an inquiry, a storage function that stores questions andanswers to the questions in a predetermined table, and an outputfunction that outputs an answer to the inquiry on the basis of thetable, in which the table contains records including questions, answersto the questions, and information prescribing parent-child relationshipsfor arranging the components including the questions and the answersinto the tree structure, and records including the same components arestored in the same table.

Note that a program realizing an exemplary embodiment obviously may beprovided via a communication medium, and may also be provided by beingstored on a recording medium such as CD-ROM.

The above describes an exemplary embodiment, but the technical scope ofthe present disclosure is not limited to the scope described in theforegoing exemplary embodiment. It is clear from the claims that avariety of modifications or alterations to the foregoing exemplaryembodiment are also included in the technical scope of the presentdisclosure.

In the embodiment above, the term “processor” refers to hardware in abroad sense. Examples of the processor includes general processors(e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit), dedicated processors (e.g., GPU:Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Integrated Circuit, FPGA:Field Programmable Gate Array, and programmable logic device).

In the embodiment above, the term “processor” is broad enough toencompass one processor or plural processors in collaboration which arelocated physically apart from each other but may work cooperatively. Theorder of operations of the processor is not limited to one described inthe embodiment above, and may be changed.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of thedisclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information management apparatus comprising: aprocessor configured to associate components including questions andanswers to the questions using parent-child relationships, and control adisplay of the components as a tree structure, receive a selection of asubset of components in the tree structure according to a useroperation, and also connect the selected subset of components to thetree structure, and change the parent-child relationships of thecomponents according to the connection of the components.
 2. Theinformation management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is capable of designating a range for each applicationapplying a created tree structure and components.
 3. The informationmanagement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processordisplays a plurality of tree structures, and the processor receives aselection of a subset of components in a first tree structure among theplurality of tree structures, and connects the selected subset ofcomponents to a second tree structure among the plurality of treestructures.
 4. The information management apparatus according to claim3, wherein when there is a change in a parent-child relationship betweencomponents forming one of a first tree structure and the second treestructure, the processor causes a similar change to be reflected in thesecond tree structure.
 5. The information management apparatus accordingto claim 3, wherein when there is a change in the questions and theanswers to the questions in the components forming one of the first treestructure and the second tree structure, the processor causes a similarchange to be reflected in the components forming the second treestructure.
 6. The information management apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the processor manages a plurality of application range maps fordesignating the range for each application, and the processor receives aselection of a subset of components in a tree structure of a firstapplication range map among the plurality of application range maps, andconnects the selected subset of components to a tree structure tree in asecond application range map.
 7. The information management apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein when there is a change in a parent-childrelationship between components forming a tree structure from among atree structure in the first application range map and a tree structurein the second application range map, the processor causes a change ofonly the parent-child relationship between the components connectedbetween the application range maps to be reflected in the tree structurein the second application range map.
 8. The information managementapparatus according to claim 6, wherein when there is a change in thequestions and the answers to the questions in the components forming atree structure from among a tree structure in the first applicationrange map and a tree structure in the second application range map, theprocessor causes a similar change to be reflected in the componentsforming a tree structure in the second application range map.
 9. Theinformation management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor causes questions to be displayed in a tree structure.
 10. Theinformation management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein theprocessor causes the tree structure to be displayed together with atable for creating the tree structure.
 11. The information managementapparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the connection is made, theprocessor also changes the display of the table for creating the treestructure according to the connection.
 12. An information processingapparatus comprising: a processor configured to receive an inquiry,store questions and answers to the questions in a predetermined table,and output an answer to the inquiry on a basis of the table, wherein thetable contains records including questions, answers to the questions,and information prescribing parents for arranging components includingthe questions and the answers into a tree structure, and recordsincluding the same components are stored in the same table.
 13. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein theprocessor selects a question on a basis of a degree of associationbetween an index created from the questions and the inquiry, and outputsthe answer to the selected question.
 14. The information processingapparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor outputs aplurality of questions as candidates to a user, and receives a questionselected by the user.
 15. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 13, wherein in a case where there is one question as acandidate, the processor outputs the answer to the question and alsooutputs a question existing in a parent-child relationship with thequestion.
 16. The information processing apparatus according to claim12, wherein the table includes an identification assistance column usedwhen identifying a question, and the processor identifies a question ona basis of a degree of association between an index created from theidentification assistance column and the inquiry, and outputs the answerto the question.
 17. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 16, wherein the table classifies the answers into types.
 18. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing acomputer to execute a process for managing information, the processcomprising: associating components including questions and answers tothe questions using parent-child relationships, and controlling adisplay of the components as a tree structure; receiving a selection ofa subset of components in the tree structure according to a useroperation, and also connecting the selected subset of components to thetree structure; and changing the parent-child relationships of thecomponents according to the connection.
 19. A non-transitory computerreadable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute aprocess for processing information, the process comprising: receiving aninquiry; storing questions and answers to the questions in apredetermined table; and outputting an answer to the inquiry on a basisof the table, wherein the table contains records including questions,answers to the questions, and information prescribing parents forarranging components including the questions and the answers into a treestructure, and records including the same components are stored in thesame table.